UPDATED: One man dead after fall into water tank in Lower Providence, other worker taken to hospital

LOWER PROVIDENCE — After more than three hours, emergency crews successfully rescued a man who had been hanging approximately 60 feet in the air from a safety harness and trapped inside of an 80-foot tall water tank after an “industrial equipment malfunction” left another man dead on Wednesday afternoon.

According to Lower Providence Police Chief Francis Carroll, three workers from Corrosion Control Corporation, based out of Pedricktown, N.J., had been performing maintenance on the tower when an apparent equipment malfunction occurred at approximately 11 a.m., causing one man to plummet approximately 40-60 feet to his death at the bottom of the empty tank and left the second worker hanging from a safety harness. At the time of the incident, the third worker was also working at the bottom of the tank and was not injured.

“There were two people working at an elevated level. I’m not sure of the exact description of the apparatus (the workers) were using,” explained Carroll. “That will be part of the investigation conducted by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration).”

After working for approximately three hours, nearly 45 minutes of which came inside the structure, crews were finally able to free the trapped worker by going into the top of the tower and rappelling down to the worker’s location. Once the rescuer got to the worker’s location, the rescuer attached a second safety harness to the worker and the pair was then lowered to the bottom of the tank and the trapped worker was removed from the tank through an “access way” that is approximately as large as a manhole at the tower’s base.

Following the successful rescue, the victim, who was conscious and talking to crews throughout the process, was transported by Lower Providence Emergency Medical Services to Paoli Hospital for treatment of unknown injuries relating to the accident.

As the operation unfolded throughout the day, the victim remained alert and spoke with rescuers at regular intervals. Because of this, crews were able to work at a more deliberate pace to ensure the safety of both rescue workers and the victim, according to Lower Providence Fire Chief Bryan McFarland.

“He was talking to us from the onset. That is why this was not a rushed operation,” he said. “We took our time and put as much safety into (the rescue) as we could.”

Because the rescue was both a “technical specialty” and “manpower intensive,” multiple fire companies had to be called in to assist in the rescue. Along with the Lower Providence Township Fire Department, crews from the Norristown Fire Department, King of Prussia Heavy Rescue, North Penn Goodwill, and Black Rock Fire Company were among the departments on the scene to assist in the rescue.

“At the time, the victim was suspended in his work harness, which required us to enter the tank and extricate him,” McFarland explained. “As you can imagine, that required some technical assistance, which was requested immediately.”

The tower is owned by Audubon Water Company (AWC), which had contracted out the maintenance work to Corrosion Control Corporation and Wednesday was the workers second day working in the tower.

“A tragedy occurred (Wednesday) morning at the site of AWC’s Featherbed Lane Standpipe in Lower Providence Township, which was being painted by a company specializing in this type of work,” said Michael J. Clement in an email on behalf of AWC. “All of those at AWC are deeply saddened and shaken by the events this morning and our prayers go out to (the victim’s) family.”

The cause of the accident is currently under investigation by both the police department and OSHA.